5 Resources for Job Interview Thank You Letters

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This is the third post in the “Marketing Toolkit Series” and we will focus on Thank You Letters. Thank you letters are another important part of your Marketing Toolkit. The main purpose (besides the obvious thanks) is to ensure that the interviewer knows that, not only are you are a good match for the job, but that you heard everything that was discussed during the interview. There is an expectation that everyone will send a Thank You letter, and those that don’t may not get the opportunity to continue in the process. This is your chance to list those characteristics that match the job and company profile.

As with all writing related to your job search process, the Thank You letter should be well written and tailored to the interviewer. While you may have similar text in your Thank You letters, under no circumstances should your letters look similar to other letters for anyone interview process (i.e. don’t send the same letter to different interviewers at the same company).

The main purpose of thank you letters (besides the obvious thanks) is to ensure that the interviewer knows that, not only are you are a good match for the job, your are the perfect candidate for the job

There are as many examples of Thank You letters as there are examples of resumes and cover letters. The important thing to remember is that your Thank You letter should be personalized. I’ve added a page dedicated to the entire (small but growing) series on the right-hand side of this site – “Job Search Marketing Toolkit” – take a look.

Sending a Thank You Email After A Phone Interview is a Great Idea – This article, from CareerAlley, provides overall guidelines, as well as what to include and exclude, general, thank you, addressing concerns, etc. Key in this article are each of the paragraphs at the beginning which state, more or less, the real purpose of the letters (similar to what I indicated earlier in this post). And, although I didn’t mention it, Proofread as many times as possible concept is listed here as well.

How to Write a Thank You Letter – Also by About.com, this article lists the “Here’s How” as well as additional tips. The time-tested standards are here – letters to each interviewer, express your interest in the job and the company, mention specific topics discussed during the interview, etc.

Great Job Interview, Have You Said Thank You? – The four things you need to remember with thank you letters. The list includes General letters, letters that stress fit, letters that focus on damage control (yes, there are letters for almost every occasion), job fair interviews and more. How about what you need to leave out or forget?

“Think of thank-you letters as a self-marketing tool and a critical component of your job-search strategy. The time you invest crafting a targeted thank-you letter after an interview is time well spent, and it will help you create a credible and efficient search.” – Reasons to send thank you letters

Sample Thank You Letters – Susan Ireland (www.susanireland.com) also offers samples/examples of Thank You letters on her website. Her samples are listed by strategy (interview, offer, rejection, informational and thank you to friends). Click on any of the links and a full sample will be displayed. I do feel obligated to say (as silly as this sounds, it happens all of the time) don’t forget to remove any information from your thank you letter that are specific to the sample (like the fictitious name of the individual).

6 Tips For Following Up After A Job Interview – One more site with examples, this one from Virginia Tech. The site lists the purpose of the thank you letter, talks about snail mail versus email, what to do if you don’t hear from an employer and provides examples as well. Finally, at the bottom of the page is a full listing of additional career links.